Projects/Usability/HIG/SearchPattern

Purpose

A search function allows to generate a subset out of a big number of items on ground of a user defined pattern. The function is essential to find matching items in case of a extended list or if the position of target(s) is unknown, as well as when bulk operations should be executed.

Guidelines

Search operations must not take seconds.

Make the search result persistent. Users must not need to research after selecting or referencing an item.

Consider to allow iterative search on result lists.

Provide paging/scrolling of results.

Do not inherit artificial intelligence from users. Search operations have always be clear and comprehensible to users.

Appearance

To show or not to show':'

Always show search input. Do not hide the availability from users.

Show input control only when users start the search.

Hide the control in case the search is not the primary function of the app, but show a small button which indicates clearly the availability of the function.